ABSTRACT
Association of blinatumomab treatment with myelosuppression was examined in this study. Peripheral blood counts were assessed prior to, during, and after blinatumomab treatment in patients with relapsed/refractory Philadelphia chromosome-negative (Ph-) B-cell precursor (BCP) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL; n = 267) and Ph+ BCP-ALL (n = 45) from the TOWER and ALCANTARA studies, respectively, or chemotherapy in patients with Ph- BCP-ALL (n = 109) from the TOWER study; all the patients with relapsed/refractory BCP-ALL and responders achieving complete remission (CR) or CR with partial/incomplete hematological recovery (CRh/CRi) were evaluated. Event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) were assessed in patients achieving CR and CRh/CRi. Median leukocyte, neutrophil, and platelet counts increased during two blinatumomab cycles but remained low longer after chemotherapy. Among the responders, there was a trend that a greater proportion of patients achieved CR with blinatumomab (Ph-, 76.5%; Ph+, 77.8%) versus with chemotherapy (Ph-, 63.6%). In the TOWER study, the survival prognosis for patients achieving CRh/CRi versus CR with blinatumomab was more similar (median OS, 11.9 (95% CI, 3.9-not estimable (NE)) vs. 15.0 (95% CI, 10.4-NE) months, p = 0.062) than with chemotherapy (5.2 (95% CI, 1.6-NE) vs. 18.9 (95% CI, 9.3-NE) months, p = 0.013). Blinatumomab treatment, with only temporary and transient myelosuppression, resulted in a greater survival benefit than chemotherapy.